


One Of Those Days

by KittyKatBella



Category: Captain Underpants Series - Dav Pilkey
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 10:29:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17806325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKatBella/pseuds/KittyKatBella
Summary: George is having one of those days, where his senses just seemed to be turned up to 11. Good thing Harold is there for him.





	One Of Those Days

The day started like any other.

Well, ok, maybe not like  _ any  _ other. It was one of those days where George just felt kind of tired, as soon as he woke up. Not like he stayed up too late the previous night because he and Harold drank too much soda and got distracted watching movies until past midnight. No, it was that kind of tired where he just didn’t feel like doing much, where moving just sometimes required too much energy, despite his usual boundless amount of hyperactivity. It was one of those days where someone seemed to turn the volume on the world up a few notches, where he just moved too slow and didn’t talk as much as normal.

Harold seemed to realize this when they met up outside their houses, when George just shrugged and mumbled in response, when he flinched ever so slightly when Harold shouted to get his attention as he was walking towards the sidewalk. And so Harold, knowing it was one of those days without George having to tell him, filled the walked to school with a steady stream of mostly one-sided conversation, quiet, without expecting George to respond. George was glad Harold got it. He always seemed to get it.

George felt too lumpy to pay close attention in class- not that he ever focused anyway. But he wasn’t even working on a story for the next comic, which is why he felt a ping of guilt somewhere in his stomach, because him and Harold had said there would be a new comic by the end of the week, but what if they didn’t get it done in time? He looked over at Harold, who was doodling with his tongue sticking out, and a pen tucked behind his ear. 

When Ms. Ribble tried to get him in trouble for not paying attention, George hardly looked up before answering her question and rolling his head back over on his desk.

* * *

 

Well, it usually happened on days like this, because George and Harold couldn’t get through a single day without Krupp screaming at them, even if they weren’t doing anything technically wrong. But being “suspiciously quiet” was, apparently, enough of an offense to be sent to the principal’s office.

When Krupp started yelling is when it started happening. George screwed up his face and covered his ears, because it was loud enough that it hurt his chest and his head felt weird, like someone was trying to cut it open with a butter knife. And of course Krupp didn’t care, he  _ never  _ cared, he just yelled at George to “stop ignoring him”, and it wasn’t like George was  _ ignoring  _ him, it was just too loud and  _ too loud and- _

And then when there were tears down his cheeks and pain in his head and chest, there was also a pressure around him, like two arms, and George knew it was Harold, and it was nice because it was something to focus on besides  _ Krupp’s screaming  _ and  _ stomping feet  _ and  _ slamming hands on the desk _ . And when he felt Harold stand up and holding him closer, like trying to protect him, he stood with him and opened his eyes and saw that Krupp was still mad, definitely, but also confused. Like he was trying to figure out  _ why  _ George could have possibly been crying, and why Harold was holding him like this even though he rarely ever did during trips to the office, like it wasn’t obvious that it  _ hurt  _ that  _ everything hurt  _ and it felt like the knife in his head was getting sharper the more Krupp raised his voice.

And as George closed his eyes again, and tried to calm down, there was vaguely something like “You’re too loud,” and “He’s having one of the bad day,” and Harold never got too loud, despite how much George  _ knew  _ he had to want to yell back at Krupp. And maybe Krupp realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere, because there was a gruff dismissal and then Harold was leading him out of the office. But they weren’t going back to class, no, Harold lead him to the hallway by their lockers and they sat down and Harold just held him for awhile.

And it felt nice, finally, to be somewhere where there wasn’t any noise, because of course it was one of  _ those days  _ and anything was just a touch overwhelming. Except now that it was quiet, George could hug Harold back and lean his head on his shoulder and it was nice, sitting there with nothing except the feeling of Harold’s arms around him, and his arms around his friend, and finally he wasn’t in trouble anymore just because he wasn’t a perfect child or a perfect student.

It wasn’t for another 20 minutes that George felt mostly better, and Harold made sure he was ok before they went back to class, and Harold insisted on pushing their desks together so they could still hold onto each other, and even Ms. Ribble couldn’t yell at them for it upon seeing just how exhausted George looked. The younger boy smiled softly, leaning his head against Harold’s shoulder and looking up towards the front of the room.

Having one of those days was never very fun, but at least he had his best friend to make sure they didn’t get any worse than they had to be.


End file.
